


i'll be there 'til the stars don't shine

by maybankiara (juggyjones)



Series: jiara july 2020 [2]
Category: Outer Banks (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Confident Kiara Carrera, Denial of Feelings, F/M, Friends to Lovers, JJ Is Whipped For Kiara, JJ Maybank-centric, Jiara July, Pogues Throw a Kegger
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-27
Updated: 2020-07-27
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:01:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,929
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25551724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/juggyjones/pseuds/maybankiara
Summary: Kiara just laughs, freely, and pats some of the dust and dirt off her black tank top. JJ tries to not let his eyes follow the movement of her hands – it’s fucking kie, you horny bastard.‘I had an inkling,’ she whispers.‘No, you just knew I’m the most awesomest dude you’ll ever meet.’Her hand collides with his shoulder, pushing him backwards and making him yelp. ‘Shut up, Maybank.’— in which the pogues throw a kegger, and jj keeps getting distracted by the feelings he might have for one of his closest friends.[jiara week 2020: day 2, activity]
Relationships: JJ Maybank/Kiara Carrera
Series: jiara july 2020 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1849519
Comments: 15
Kudos: 90
Collections: Jiara July Jubilee





	i'll be there 'til the stars don't shine

**Author's Note:**

> hello! welcome day two of jiara july 2020! shoutout to lara (@RoseofWinterfell) for making sure this is decent, ty so much ♡
> 
> title from _always_ by bon jovi, bc not only is this another jiara song, but _classic rock_ appears to be the source of my motivation to write for jiara week.

Throwing a kegger is the Pogues’ speciality. It usually goes like this: JJ and John B find people who know someone who knows someone who can get them several kegs, and they go pick them up. They also spread the word about the party several days prior to it happening – they’ve thrown enough parties for the news of a Boneyard Pogue kegger to fly faster than a Kook’s private plane. 

After that, it’s on Pope to get the word out to some of the Kooks he’s met while working for his dad, and Pogues who could know Kooks. Kiara and Sarah do the Kooks and Tourons – girls from their high school usually come wherever there’s hot surfer boys, and the moment either Sarah or Kiara bat their eyes at someone who’s here to have fun for the summer, they’ll do whatever the girls say.

Preparing for a kegger is just as fun as throwing one. For JJ, at least. 

It’s not always smooth, so sometimes Kiara’s parents decide that they’ve got a last minute dinner with one of the Kook families they’re trying to impress. Other times, Sarah’s brother gets into a pissy mood and causes her to be locked up in the Cameron mansion. Sometimes Heyward needs Pope for an early morning shift. Sometimes they get busted by the police and their kegs get delayed. Sometimes it’s just the weather. 

Either way, keggers are always a competition with chance, and JJ likes his odds. 

This time, it’s a warm night, everyone is allowed to come, and it’s all _perfect,_ until—

**_Kie [1:43pm]:_ ** **Can’t come tonight. Mom’s fam is coming over tomorrow night and we need to clean the whole place. Sorry guys!!**

‘What the fuck?’ JJ just stares at the phone, feeling his chest tighten. He glances at John B who’s behind the wheel and reads out the message. ‘Is she being for real?’

John B’s lips are pressed into a thin line. ‘We can’t have a kegger without Kie.’

‘Hell no, we can’t.’ 

‘What do we do?’

JJ props his legs on the dashboard, right next to the hula figurine. He’s got his nails between his teeth as he stares out of the window, watching the trees move by in a blur, not unlike his thoughts. 

The moment he figures it out, he jumps in the spot, frightening John B to the point he has to steer the car back onto the road, having almost died. 

‘What the fuck, JJ!’ 

‘Stop the car,’ orders JJ. ‘Turn around and drive to Kie’s. We’ve got just enough time.’

‘To do what?’ The car slows to a halt and John B leans between the seats, navigating as he does a u-turn. JJ’s on his phone and almost misses his friend repeating himself. 

‘One sec.’ His fingers move furiously over the keyboard, making a dozen mistakes he doesn’t bother correcting. He shuts his phone off and grins at his friend. ‘We’re going to help the Carreras clean up.’

John B sighs, and hits the gas.

—

‘Are you sure you don’t want anything to drink? Water, juice, iced tea? Milk?’

‘No, Mr. Carrera.’ JJ picks up a wooden kitchen chair, feeling its weight tug at his muscles. ‘I’m all good, thanks.’

‘Let it go, dad,’ says Kiara. She’s holding onto the legs of the chair in JJ’s hands, navigating them across the room. ‘He’s stubborn like that.’

It’s just the two of them – Kiara and JJ. Since all of the Pogues gave the Carreras a hand in getting their house up and running _while_ trying to organise the party, they were leaving the house one by one, depending on when they needed to get stuff sorted for the kegger. 

John B and Sarah got the kegs. Pope exchanged some bills and got some snacks, mostly for the munchies they’re bound to have. Now, the only thing left over is JJ’s job – get Kiara to come with them.

Mike Carrera chuckles. ‘I owe you a favour, kid. All of you.’

‘Nah, Mr. Carrera. As long as Kiara gets to John B’s tonight, no favours needed.’

The two set the chair down at the kitchen table and Kiara tugs it to the side, ignoring the awful creak it makes. She glances at JJ with her eyebrows raised and lips panicked, as if saying, _what the fuck are you doing?_ but keeps quiet. 

‘What’s tonight?’

JJ only gives her (what he hopes to be) a subtle wink, facing her dad with a sheepish grin on his face. ‘Nothing special, sir. But it’s been a while since we’ve all hung out because of summer jobs, vacations, and all, so we’d really appreciate it if Kiara could come along.’

He’s a charmer, when he wants to be. He knows he’s all breezy smiles and carefree stance, leaning his hand on the edge of the chair. 

Kiara’s father lets out a _hmph_ sound. He crosses his arms on his chest, eyes moving between the two teens, a calculating wrinkle between his brows. ‘Is that so?’

‘Yeah, dad,’ Kiara chips in. She’s a world class liar, JJ’s best student, and she handles herself with ease. ‘That’s why the guys came over. Seriously – you benefited. We’re done a whole day sooner than we thought we would.’

‘All right.’ Her dad sighs, shaking his head. ‘You can go. Just – get yourself cleaned up.’

‘Thanks, dad!’

A massive smile overtakes the teens’ faces and the moment Mike’s out of the room, JJ and Kiara bump their fists in the classic Pogue handshake. JJ feels his heart about to burst. 

‘I didn’t think that would actually work, to be honest.’

Kiara just laughs, freely, and pats some of the dust and dirt off her black tank top. JJ tries to not let his eyes follow the movement of her hands – _it’s fucking_ kie _, you horny bastard._

‘I had an inkling,’ she whispers. 

‘No, you just knew I’m the most awesomest dude you’ll ever meet.’

Her hand collides with his shoulder, pushing him backwards and making him yelp. ‘Shut up, Maybank.’

The blond kid bends over and bumps into Kiara. His hands wrap around her middle and he tugs her close, despite her half-protests half-laughter, straightening his back with the girl now over his shoulder. She’s complaining, both threatening to kill him and telling him he’s going to kill her, but JJ just keeps saying _yadda yadda yadda_ until they’re in front of her room. 

The floor thuds when she jumps on her feet, pushing his chest without sparing a second. Her hair is still in a bun except now half of it has fallen out and it’s hanging to the right, and her cheeks dark and flushed, accompanied by a scowl. 

‘You’re insane, JJ! up the _stairs_?!’ Kiara lets out an exasperated sigh, reaching for her hair, and redoes it.

JJ shouldn’t, but he watches her do it. His eyes follow the movements of her hands, hidden behind her head; he watches her hair be stubborn, falling in and out of place, and he watches her crane her neck as she grunts, fixing with the elastic band. 

He blinks himself out of it. 

The door into Kiara’s room is ajar, but JJ still pushes it with both hands in an effort to take his mind off of what just happened. He’s about to walk in when he feels a tug on the back of his shirt. 

Kiara clears her throat, one eyebrow raised in a way that resembles his dad’s earlier expression all too much. ‘And where exactly do _you_ think you’re going?’

‘Your room,’ JJ answers, ‘but now I’m changing my answer to _front door.’_

She grins. ‘Off you go, blondie.’

Already halfway down the stairs, JJ pretends to blow her a kiss, and flips her off instead. She chuckles, rolling eyes at him, and he tries not to feel chills in his shoulders. ‘Don’t be late.’

‘Yes, sir.’

They both know she’s going to be late.

—

JJ arrives at the Chateau on his bike, loud and unmissable. His helmet comes off with ease and he leans forward, shaking his head until his hair has got the windswept look to it, not whatever the helmet turned it into. He kind of feels like taking a helmet was a bad choice - but he was already late by the time he walked back to his place, and he knows Kiara would’ve wanted him to wear a helmet while riding, at least while he’s speeding like he just was.

The Twinkie is parked in the front with a single keg placed next to it. JJ kicks it with the heel of his foot, muttering ‘ _nice’_ when he hears the deep sound of a full keg. 

‘Don’t fuck up our beer, you vandal.’ John B pops out of the car, bumping fists with JJ. ‘How did it go with the Carreras after we left?’

‘It was chill. We finished up, nothing much. Kie’s coming later.’

‘She’s coming?’ 

‘Yeah. You need some help with that?’

John B’s holding onto the keg with both hands, managing to get it inches off the ground at a time. He nods instead of a reply, so JJ catches the other side and they put it in the back of the twinkie, heaving. There’s another three kegs at its side, taking up JJ and Pope’s usual seats.

JJ wipes his forehead with the back of his hand, squinting at John B through the falling sun. ‘Guessing that’s me on the bike?’

His friend nods. ‘You can take Pope if you want.’

‘Pope,’ scoffs JJ. He watches John B close the door and lean against the van. ‘You know he hates riding on the back of the bike.’

‘You could take Kie on it, then.’

The blond sighs. He thinks of the girl with the curls and he recalls her hand on his chest. without thinking, his fingers reach for the spot, as if her touch left a mark on his skin. 

He glances up at John B with his mouth stretched into a half-grin. ‘It’s Kie. She’ll be late. Also, she said she’ll park in that Kook parking lot at the Boneyard and just pick up her car in the morning.’

‘I still can’t believe your trick worked.’

‘Hey, people like some help. Kindness works.’

John B points a finger at him. ‘Manipulation.’

‘Is that what the kids call it now?’ JJ pats the taller boy’s back, pulling him in for a side hug. ‘Let’s get this party started.’

—

Pope and Sarah join them in the Chateau, helping fill the Twinkie with everything they could possibly need (JJ hides some more weed in the secret compartment). 

So now, considering his bike is ten times faster than anything John B drives (okay, not _really_ , but JJ does prefer his bike and there’s not enough space in the Twinkie), he’s just hanging around the Chateau. Kie hasn’t arrived yet, the others have left, and JJ is just... chilling, really. 

He’s got a joint between his lips and a zippo in his hand, debating between lighting it now or at the Boneyard. There’s a lot of pros and cons, but somehow, the only one he can _actually_ think of is the one he _shouldn’t_ be thinking of. 

(Kiara’s lips wrapped around the joint, looking soft and plump; lipstick stain on the thin grey paper as JJ takes it and puts it between his own lips.)

He texts her. 

**_me [6:47pm]:_ ** **on a scale 1** – **10 how late**

**_kie [6:47pm]:_ ** **why do you always assume i’ll be late?** **  
** **_kie [6:48pm]:_ ** **6**

**_me [6:48pm]:_ ** **hurry up then**

**_kie [6:50pm]:_ ** **go mack on someone and let me get ready** **  
** **_kie [6:50pm]:_ ** **someone’s got to charm every girl and boy present**

JJ doesn’t reply to this, but he does let a smile grow on his face as he puts the joint and the phone back into his pocket. The zippo stays on his palm, keeping him entertained until he feels he’s ready to go to a party. 

This is new – JJ Maybank is _always_ ready to go to a party, especially the one thrown by the Pogues. 

For whatever reason, this time, he doesn’t really have the burning desire to go and “mack on someone”, as Kiara put it. He’s perfectly content sitting on his bike, legs at each side of it, listening to the crickets around the chateau, with Kiara’s name on his phone when it buzzes. 

JJ sighs, because although this isn’t actually new, it’s _different_. 

He’s been catching himself looking at Kiara more and more, noticing that she’s a _girl_ more and more, and it hasn’t been in a way he looks at Sarah, who he’s acutely aware of being a girl. Kie’s different – he notices that she’s a girl and he _likes_ that about her, he _likes_ that she isn’t like John B and Pope. 

JJ runs a hand over his face, then through his hair, shakes it for additional measure. There’s no more texts from Kiara, but the boys are starting to ask why he hasn’t come to the Boneyard yet, so he just revs the engine and sets off for the beach. 

There’s still some thoughts about Kiara, about her hands in her hair, about her tapping away the dust from her shirt, about her cheeky smile when he wanted to go into her room, about her texts, her hand on his chest—

He revs the engine _again_ , hitting the gas far beyond the limit, and the noise is enough to quieten his mind. 

—

Out of ten, JJ would give her a seven on the lateness scale. It’s already dark when he sees the familiar Nissan pull up into the parking lot at the very end of the beach. He’s all the way at the heart of the boneyard, manning the keg, but by the time Kiara’s out of the car and her door’s closed, he’s pushing a red solo cup into her hand. 

‘Welcome to the party, Kie. This is a seven, not a six.’

‘Come on.’ She takes the cup and sips from it, smiling. ‘I’m not that bad.’

JJ points behind him. ‘The sun will literally set in five minutes.’

‘Fine, it’s a seven.’

The two of them chat as they walk back to the beach, greeting a few people in passing. Pope’s the one manning the keg now, and JJ decides there’s no rush to take back over. 

He stands next to Kiara as she chats to a girl whose face he vaguely recognises, but definitely doesn’t know the name of. She might be from the Cut, with nice blonde hair and a tanned, pretty face to go with it. 

This is the kind of girl he’d usually be all over. He sees her glancing at him, a smile dancing in the corner of her lips as she talks to Kiara, only now he just... he doesn’t care. 

He looks at Kiara, instead. 

The girl’s hair is held back by a midnight blue headband, loose otherwise. He notices she accentuated the shape of her eyes with some sort of makeup, because they look a lot more intricate than usually. Her lips seem a little darker, too, and he wonders if he’d taste the lipstick if he kissed her. 

‘Um, Kie – I’m gonna go help Pope with the keg,’ he says. He scratches his nose, looking away and hoping she doesn’t see his cheeks redden. ‘Catch you later.’

She doesn’t, but she squeezes his hand as he starts to walk away. 

When he gets to Pope, his friend takes one look and hands him the beer he’s just poured out, ignoring some Touron’s protests. ‘You look like you need one.’

‘Thanks, bro.’ 

JJ stands there as Pope pours, occasionally handing him a fresh cup, or giving him some change. They’ve got some other people manning other kegs, but this is the one they’ve decided to claim for themselves. 

Usually it’s JJ manning it. Usually it’s JJ manning the keg or macking on a Touron – sometimes at the same time, too. 

Once most people have left the keg and they’ve got a moment for themselves, JJ hands Pope the beer he’d given him to keep. Pope downs it in a second and pours out another one, filling JJ’s cup, too. 

‘You good?’ he asks. When JJ nods, a half-assed lie, Pope doesn’t acknowledge it. ‘Where’s Kie?’

JJ takes a big swing, pouring it until his mouth’s full, and only then does he swallow the bitter liquid. He doesn’t even reply, just nods his head in the direction he came from Kiara’s still chatting to those same girls. 

‘Mhm,’ mumbles Pope. He gives JJ a look that’s saying something, but JJ doesn’t— _refuses_ to understand. 

They don’t talk about it. The blond takes over the next round of drinks, and Pope is the one who keeps him company, then. It’s enough to keep him busy.

—

JJ doesn’t usually do this – chasing his friends around the Boneyard. It’s been almost an hour now since he talked to Kiara, he’s had a fair share of red solo cups filled to the brim, and the only thing he needs from fully enjoying the night is a joint. 

Weed is his and Kiara’s thing, mostly, but particularly at Boneyard parties. They’ve got this particular spot, a little west from the Kook parking lot, up on a tree that’s easy enough to climb when they’re drunk. 

The plan was to find her, take her to the tree, and just have a smoke – but as always, plans change. 

He didn’t expect to see her dancing next to the bonfire. 

John B and Sarah come find her with him, but the groove of the music takes them, too, leaving JJ to stand alone at the edge of the beach. He’s not the only one standing, but he feels so incredibly out of place, even though he doesn’t know why. Usually, he has no problem with getting himself into the middle of the crowd and taking over everyone’s attention, whether by making fun of himself or finding a way to create an impressive-looking choreo with Kiara on the spot. 

_usually_ – JJ realises he’s been coming up with things that he usually does, that he hasn’t done today, and it makes him wonder, a little. 

He brings the cup to his lips and sips from it, unable to take his eyes off of Kiara. 

She’s dancing with a girl he definitely hasn’t seen before tonight, and he wouldn’t be surprised if she hasn’t, either. She’s all smiles and bright eyes, moves smooth and intoxicating. There’s something about Kiara dancing that JJ finds magical – it’s not a recent thing, but he’s only recently realised that he could watch her forever. 

She’s happy, he thinks, carefree and full of joy, and maybe that’s what JJ likes so much about the sight. 

He sighs, irritated by his thoughts, and she spots him at the same time. 

_come here, jj!_ he can read from her lips. 

He shakes his head _no_. Raises the cup, trying to tell her he can’t dance with a drink. She pouts, and he can see the playfulness in the bow of her lip from the twenty feet distance.

Kiara ends up coming over to him, not once letting go of the music as she sways her hips to the beat, or taps it against her bare thighs. He doesn’t get the chance to say _hi_ before the cup’s out of his hands and its contents in Kiara’s stomach. 

There’s something sexy about her lips on his cup, but JJ tries really hard to push those thoughts away. 

Kiara takes hold of his hand. ‘you’re out of excuses.’

‘Kie...’ he begins, but her eyes have got this devilish gleam to them that he’s so _weak_ for. ‘Fine.’

She takes him to where she was dancing earlier, waving at her previous partner, but firmly choosing to stick with JJ. The music is reggae, just the way they like it, and the rhythm takes over JJ soon enough. 

He feels her getting closer. They move in sync, one away from the other, bending their bodies as if they were one. He feels the heat radiating off her body on his naked chest, his shirt long forgotten next to the keg somewhere. His fingers are light on the skin above her shorts, little touches enough to get her moving the way he wants her to. 

JJ stares into her eyes, not breaking the contact, and he lets himself think how fucking perfectly they go together. There’s no conversation involved – their bodies understand each other’s rhythm and movement as if they were created for that, and he doesn’t need to wonder where to move his body next. They read one another, they bounce off of one another, and it’s just—

The song speeds up. Kiara gets closer, until they’re skin to skin, and he curses the crop top she’s wearing that breaks the contact. His fingers are on her back as they sway from side to side, legs between one another’s, moving like a swift creek. 

Cheek to cheek; then, chest to chest. 

JJ is feeling the heat and it’s not just the dancing anymore. He feels her pulse as if it were his own, and he feels her movements as if they were an extension of himself. 

He pulls back, just enough to be able to see her face. Her eyes, darker than usual; her pout, with a sheen layer of sweat on top of her lip; her neck, craned as she tilts her body backwards, supported only by his hand underneath the small of her back. 

Her hands wrap around his neck and he pulls her up; the dancing ceases, but their bodies retain the balance, the connection. 

JJ’s eyes fall to her lips again, and he has to bite his own to keep himself from—

Kiara slams her lips against his, tasting of salt and beer and something JJ recognises as lipstick. They’re soft against his chapped ones, and she’s everything but gentle as she tugs on the hair at the nape of his neck, bending her body enough to pull him down a little, hips buckling against hips. Her mouth is fiery and relentless, and JJ feels as if he’s never tasted anything closer to heaven. 

But then he pulls back, out of breath, eyes staring into her wicked ones. 

‘No Pogue on Pogue macking, huh?’

‘Please,’ scoffs Kiara. ‘As if you’ve ever found a rule you’d follow.’

He raises an eyebrow at this sudden confidence, but come to think of it, maybe it wasn’t so sudden after all. ‘It’s your rule.’

She shrugs. JJ feels her fingertips still at the nape of his neck, warm and inviting, and he applies pressure to the small of her back until she’s pressed against him again. 

His eyes drop to her lips again and— _fuck._

‘Are you sure?’

A smile creeps onto Kiara’s face, and she leans her forehead against his shoulder, shaking her head slightly. When she looks back at him, her eyes are kind. ‘Do I really seem unsure to you?’

‘No,’ admits JJ.

‘Are _you_ unsure?’

‘No.’ It’s a statement this time, firm and indisputable. 

Her lips brush against his, a feather-light touch, and his hands on her skin tense. ‘Good.’

She kisses him, and he’s forgotten all about the joint, all about the blonde Touron, all about every single thing that’s happened in his life prior to Kiara’s lips being on his. 

JJ never would’ve guessed that heaven tastes like Kiara’s lipstick.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading, i hope you enjoyed it! you can come hang out with me on [tumblr](https://maybankiara.tumblr.com).


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